Despite my delirium during the demonstration and lecture that followed it, I was able to properly ascertain the power structure of the world's mages. A fact that meant I could confidently use magic without bringing too much attention, though since I didn't know the incantations of the world I was considered a rarity by the fact I omitted that step. As such Leeson was more than a little surprised when I healed myself magically, but just held his hands up. "I guess worrying about you is a waste of time."
I smiled as I looked at the floor. "Yet greatly appreciated, it has been a long time since anyone did." My words made him grimace slightly before I patted him on the shoulder. "Anyway, I have a wager to win, I had best go get ingratiated with the locals." I smirked thinly through the bittersweet revelry of thinking about the last person who worried about me as I waved Doran over.
I had Doran escort me back to the guild, then told him he would be my navigator on a couple of kill quests they had listed. I wasn't eager enough to take any of the monster jobs that were particularly far, but the area had an abundance of dense woodlands and dangerous fauna, which he knew far more about than me. An unexpected advantage of having him as a guide was his popularity among the people, who seemed to adore him.
"How's caretaker duty? Careful you don't get too fat, hanging with the Lord's friends." The joke came from an adventurer sitting at a table just behind the board I was examining for any other jobs near the other two I had found. Ever the dutiful man, Doran was about to speak up for me but I nudged him and winked as I jarred my head to signal we were going round to chat.
As I walked round and sat at the table opposite him I asked if the one eating wasn't more likely to get fat and made him chuckle. "Aye, but some of us need energy for real jobs." He laughed, it wasn't rudeness, but rather the typical banter of such places. All adventurers in all worlds had a competitive streak, which is probably why I held such guilds so dearly in life I was lucky enough to enjoy them.
"Personally I'm happy as long as I'm making the world a safer, happier place, I don't need monster hides to decorate my ego…" Some nearby adventures almost spat out their gruel upon hearing my dig. "...But why don't we see who makes the biggest difference today?"
"The adventurer way?" He grinned, the idea of friendly competition stoking his spirits.
"Of course." I nodded, before we both spoke in unison. "Whoever earns the most today wins." The challenge was practically a fundamental law of the universe, as much a constant in worlds with adventurers as the three most common ranking systems (letters, colours, materials).
I realised when he slid his job over that I was a bit short with the two I had, so I went to the job boards again and picked up every job I could squeeze out by evening, which should leave me at triple his earnings for the one he slid over. Doran was sceptical I was making a good choice, but what he didn't know is I was able to use mana to locate my targets and it was because I expected to move too quickly to properly learn the route that I wanted his ability to navigate the area.
As is custom in such challenges, I made my way to the gate with Doran, together with my opponent and his group. "Don't go using the fact it was just you two as an excuse later." The burly man carrying a crudely forged great-axe said as he extended a hand to me.
"Don't go using how you tripped over each other so much, as an excuse later." I replied taking his hand as we shook hard once, ordered the other to make it back safe and dashed in the direction of our respective goals.
I had a vastly shorter journey, but far more objectives to complete and far more varied prey to hunt, I couldn't even remember them all since I just told Doran to grab all the jobs that were in the area we were heading to. Luckily Valo was nice enough to give me a condensed ticket of compiled objectives.
[20 wolves]
[5 rabbits]
[8 kelka - Ask Doran since I doubt you know what they are]
[2 bark skinks]
[1 monarclaw]
[1 harrowing snake - Ask Doran since I doubt you know what they are]
[1 you]
[1 Doran]
"As per terms agreed at the counter, all objectives must be completed in full, failure will incur heavy penalty and fine."
With time being of the essence and unable to fully utilise physical enhancement magic, since the chief librarian made a point of saying that only demons could do so, I started with the targets I could recognise. Willing mana to engulf the creatures in a light bright enough for me to see, a method that left Doran speechless as I asked him to keep it secret until I felt I could trust people in town enough to not need a trump card.
"Why do I get the feeling that isn't the reason?" I laughed and told him bluntly that it was because it wasn't, but it was the only one he was getting for the time being. With that though, we ticked off the wolves and rabbits in short order, thankfully storage magic was common albeit limited in comparison to other worlds.
Usually such magic was basically limitless, but for some reason this one usually limited a person to about three dozen dead creatures and inanimate objects. The highest known was seventy so I figured I would limit myself to forty-seven since my magic was considered above par because of the chant-less casting anyway.
With rabbits and wolves safely packed away, I decided to finish what I started with the kitten. I chose that area after all to make Fala's work safer if she came out alone for some reason. I didn't know whether or not the one I was sensing would actually be the same one, considering Sil had almost certainly killed the one that attacked her, but when I saw the scarred rear thigh I recognised my handiwork.
It clearly recognised me as well, but I couldn't play with it this time. Doran was readied and if I let him get involved I couldn't guarantee his safety. Instead I raised a hand and created a ball of fire, condensing it a bit before shooting it at the creature's head to make its end as painless as possible. That was an unexpectedly bad decision, I had smelt a lot of pungent aromas in my time but what exuded from that was easily the worst. A mix of burning flesh, burning fur, sulphur, methane, ammonia and a gaseous warfare agent I'd have been happy to never think about again.
"Oh gods! It's in my eyes!" Doran yelped as his skin began to blister. I set to work incinerating the immediate area, not that I was immune, my eyes were bleeding and skin blistered, but those smells all belonged to dangerous substances and incineration was the quickest way to disperse them.
When that was done I healed him, then myself, then laughed as he patted himself all over to make sure he was in one piece. "I've never heard of that happening before. Is it some kind of variant or was that your magic?" He looked a bit hurt at the potential of it being the latter.
I assured him it certainly wasn't my magic, which was purely fire based, then approached the now heavily charred remains and stored them. "We'll have to have them inspect what's left of it, I'm sorry I couldn't bring it back in better condition but I had to act fast." He waved away and hugged me as he thanked me, patting himself again when I pushed him off.
The next target was the bark skinks, which were easy enough, though I suspect they would have been hard for someone without my tracking ability and as I stored the last I asked about the kelkas. "Kel-kai…" He corrected me, looking smug. "They aren't exactly animals but they aren't plants either…" I stopped him as I grew bored of listening and told him to picture them, then willed the mana to find the object of his thoughts.
They turned out to be similar to stick insects mixed with preying mantis'. I managed to finish them off in good time, then we moved onto the last, the harrowing snake. "Its a constrictor type snake, but highly territorial, with razor sharp protrusions running the length of their bodies starting at a crest on the back of their skull."
"I have a thing for snakes, can they be kept as pets?" My words drained what little colour he had left from the monarclaw incident as he grabbed my shoulders and begged me not to try. I held my hands up in surrender as I tracked it, then as we set off, he reminded me that we needed the skin intact for the job and I slid to a halt. "How do they like the cold?" I asked having come across reptiles, which in contrast to my original world, were quite comfortable in even subzero temperatures.
"They tend to go into hiding during winter, so I'd guess not much, but they can be seen until the snows start so how cold can you make it?"
"Very." I said bluntly, telling him to stay back as I began exuding a chilly aura. As I approached it leapt at me immediately, so quickly in fact I only dodged as the cold area around me jarred it on impact and it slammed itself into the ground as it recoiled. I then gradually lowered the temperature further, until it finally began to writhe and twist itself.
Strangely it seemed unable to cut itself with the boney growths, which intrigued me but I didn't have time to study since the wolves I needed to hunt were a good distance away from here. Which I should have guessed since Fala and Doran had warned me no pack hunters would intrude on the monarclaw's territory. Instead, I tapped it with a knuckle using the same technique I employed against the bandits, then called Doran over so we could rest before heading back to town.
When we had caught our breath and eaten the sandwiches I had made for our lunch, I deferred to Doran to lead us back. His knowledge of the area was even more impressive than I thought, despite the fact we had changed directions and doubled back on ourselves several times, he showed no signs of getting even slightly turned around.
In spite of that and the good time we had made as a result, we were greeted by the opposition waiting for us at the gate. "There you boys are! Was beginning to fear the worst!" He bellowed from his position between the two chuckling gate guards.
"There you are! Was beginning to worry I didn't give you enough of a handicap!" I retorted, turning the chuckles to bellows.
We grabbed each other's forearm as I reached him and he told me I looked a little light for my run, tutting patronisingly as he bragged about having already turned in his quarry and drank himself happy.
"Good, being drunk will help you excuse the tears when you lose." I smirked as I raised my arms to accept the nonexistent reverence I was offered. We then ended up in a secondary contest racing to the guild, purposely staying neck to neck just so we could bicker about who was half a hair faster to the door.
Upon our arrival however, Valo was waiting to kill that game, telling us to hurry up before she knocks off. Ordering the burly man over to the dining area so I could turn in my haul in private behind a curtain they had set up to build some sense of anticipation before an official announcement. An unexpected benefit being I could inform Valo and Byurik about the strange monarclaw variant without causing a panic.
When I was finished reporting, I was sworn to secrecy, not about the unexpected find as I initially thought, but the fact that I had certainly won the contest. I was then ushered out with orders to bring my rival to the counter, which I did, along with a crowd of grown men crying in laughter as we continued to throw childish jibes at each other until Byurik appeared and demanded silence. "Keep it civil ladies whilst this one announces the results, you can continue swinging handbags and comparing cup sizes when she's done."
With that, Valo appeared, flanked by two carts. One parked either side of her as she came to a stop behind the middle desk. She lifted the lid of the cart on my opponent's side. "For a successful Gorgonite hunt, along with material sales, five gold and 38 silver…" She then took a deep breath before reeling off my obscene list. "For twenty wolves, five rabbits, eight kalkai, two bark skinks, a pristine harrowing snake and to top it off discovering a brand new breed of venomous monarclaw… A new guild record for highest single transaction, with nineteen gold, eleven silver and five copper. The winner is Teacher!"
"I objeeeect!" The man roared, making the older members grin, but causing tension in the younger ones who weren't quite used to the banter. "These bastards spent the whole time tripping me up and surely he should be fined for finding out those things are bloody venomous now." He continued to roar but with laughter and then everyone else joined in as he slammed a hand into the side of my arm. "Names Dusk and you sir are a champion among men and the reason my coin pouch will be lighter come its opposite."
I kicked things off with one final announcement "Drinks are on everyone, except mine which are on him." I declared grandly, turning to the serving staff and gesturing with the last bit so they knew what was going on each tab.
A good while later, as I was returning from relieving myself, I saw Valo speak to Sil briefly before she stormed off to our room. Approaching to make sure she was ok, she informed me that she had only suggested joining the celebration but she insisted on not wanting to be a part of it. I told her not to worry, but keep acting friendly, sincerely hoping that her attempts reveal a good reason for everything I found unnerving about her.
Unfortunately, whilst I sobered up quickly, I was at that moment quite merry. Which left me unable to resist when faced with my only vice, one which had followed me like a multi-versal stalker.
As a man stepped outside, the inside of the slowly closing door glowed slightly, then wafted in some faint wisps of smoke as the door closed fully. Before I knew it, I was abandoning the chief receptionist and plodded to the door in search of the smoker. "Lemme guess, where did I get it and can you have one? Well? Did I guess? Usually I'd say 'no' but you made a lot of folks happy tonight, so take the rest of the box."
I snickered with tipsy glee, then produced a canister of my own favourite variety, telling him if he puts his next lot in the canister it will stay fresh indefinitely. "Truth be told, I'm just something of a connoisseur and desperate to try the local flavour. I feel like I should tell you though, we learned not long ago in my homeland that it isn't good for you in the long run, deadly in-fact."
He looked a bit defeated by the information but nodded appreciatively as he considered the risk, smoking as he did so until he finally spoke. "I didn't retire from the guild to kill myself with this, so I'll saviour your gift and kick the habit after." I told him to come see me if he finds himself tempted and I would give him something to take the edge off. With that he slapped me on the arm as Dusk had and went back inside.
I found myself retiring not long after, strangely drained from the day's exertions. The last thing I thought to myself as I got comfortable in the dormitory was that I definitely needed to keep things boring and uncompetitive the next day.
The plan unchanged by the act of waking up, I yawned myself into starting the day and down the stairs into the hall which was still sparsely littered with the unconscious forms of those who didn't know their limits. Dusk was among them, not that I had any doubt he would be. I was not expecting him to be at a table, or in quite a compromising state though. It wasn't obvious until I approached, but he and Doran seemed to have passed out mid-arm-wrestle, making it appear that they started holding hands.
Seeking to cement the adventurer's opinions of me, I snuck about and woke everybody up who was passed out giving them water before explaining the situation and impromptu plan I.e. "Wake as many as you can, keep them quiet until we're all ready."
When we had woken everyone who would respond to gentle nudge, we gathered around the pair and I slammed the table as I congratulated them on making it official. Their reactions amused everyone, but it was a double-edged sword as everyone with me found their own hangovers throbbing as a result.
In a good, albeit groggy mood, I decided to cook for everyone just one more time, ordering everyone else to clean the others up off the floor and seat them with some water. The breakfast was simple, but thick and greasy like all good hangover cures.
We all ate slowly, me only keeping pace with everyone else as they nursed themselves back to health. "Any ideas what you're doing today?" Dusk asked me as I puffed my cheeks in thought.
"Keep it easy, I think I'll explore the town a bit. My chaperone is looking a little green and a lot delicate." I slapped Doran on the back as I spoke, making him dry-heave as Dusk and I joked about his generation not being built to last.
True to my word we kept the day's tasks light, a bit of exploring so I could get the lay of the land, finally exploring the market as I had intended to days ago, finding a good stock of a herb almost identical to one which was considered a top tier luxury in another world. Pickings were plenty, but the prices were borderline criminal. Of course everyone seemed to dodge the inquiry so I stormed off to speak with Halsan.
"Indeed, that is what first drove me to consider independence. Kanelsia, the country we are technically apart of, commissioned this town with the purpose of becoming the foundation of a replacement capital city. When they had set up, started working the land and taming nature, Kanelsia's king and senate suddenly demanded I increase taxes by almost five hundred percent."
The fact made me incredibly angry, wondering why they didn't just do it then and there Surely whatever consequences they would have incurred would have been more tolerable.